2020 #3 On This Tag: Time is a Dressmaker with VID {by Jennie Atkinson}

2020 Topic 3: On This Tag

Intro
A dreamy vintagey project from Jennie today for you - she has always been a tag-master! She is also a talented seamstres, so wht better way to meld the 2 interests with these Vintag sewing-themed stamps!
~ Keren & Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Jennie (Live The Dream) with you today sharing a little sewing tag book using some of my favourite textiles and PaperArtsy sewing themed stamps.

I recently sorted through a whole stash of fabric, some of which I have had since the 1980s! I don't do much with a needle these days but put aside some pretty cottons, lace, cambric and calico. They looked so lovely in their little pile that I thought I would combine them with some sewing themed stamps to make a cover for a little book that would be useful for jotting down some of the french knot type stitches I like to do on some of my textile pieces. The irony being in my joy to complete the book I forgot to do any french knots on the front cover!

Adding a few stamped tags and a back cover makes for a easy sized book which would make a lovely present for a sewing buff friend or family member. I have not glued anything down onto the tag, just given it a rough position and used the sewing machine to hold everything in place, so it is a little "puffy" in places, but I quite like that.

The main stamps I have used are from Vintage Ink and the Dog Collections:

Vintage Ink and the Dog Set 03 (ID03)

Ink and The Dog: Buttons Set 4 (B4)

I started by marking out my tag on some calico and stamping the pattern stamp on some dressmaking tissue using Tree Branch Archival Ink. I didn't really have a plan in mind for all these layers and in the end this layer doesn't really show up well. To get the tissue in place I sewed a square of patterned fabric into the middle of the tag as a starting point.

I stamped various elements of ID03 onto the calico and ripped it to get the lovely frayed edges. Although not having a plan I like to get a good vertical piece in early to balance the piece.

I then gradually added more stamped calico, some tea dyed lace, muslin and a tape measure ribbon. I have used two different Archival Inks: more of the Watering Can, but also Plum.

I felt I needed to fill in some of the gaps so used some of the words from the Buttons plate. A little bit of text always complements most designs and can hide some bad sewing!

I sewed the buttons onto the calico before adhering the calico to the tag, leaving the rest of the elements to be glued on after the book was completed.

I really loved this rose pattern material but it was only little bits of strips, but the join doesn't look too bad for the back of the book.

Each tag also has a calico inside. I stuck the inside and the front and back covers to the tag just around the edges using some fabric glue but I did leave it to dry overnight before stitching it as it was tacky for quite a while.

A small zig zag stitch is very useful around the edges and if you "miss" or the stitches are not uniform, they just seem to be absorbed into the frayed edges of the fabric!

I really loved the large tailor stamp but couldn't get it fitted in anywhere due to its size, but did manage to make a small hanging tag ornament stamping the bottom onto some shrink plastic.

I added torn strips of calico to hold the tag covers and pages in place.

Even if you are not a keen sewer this was pretty easy to pull together on the sewing machine. Although the fabric was added in a rather random fashion the buttons and metal embellishments can be used to tie everything in together, by giving either a vertical or horizontal emphasis. It would have looked SO much better with some French Knots don't you think!

There are so many wonderful sewing themed stamp sets both in Vintage Ink and Dog and Hot Picks. They all stamp as beautifully on calico as on paper and card, so next time you have your stamps out, think about using them with some Archival Ink on calico - I am sure you will not be disappointed.

As always thank you for joining me and happy crafting!

Jennie x

Blog: Live the Dream